The 2017 NFL Draft is one the Raiders would likely want to forget. Coming off their impressive 2016 season, the Raiders needed to improve their secondary with had gotten older. That is why they made back-to-back defensive back picks with their first two selections.
At No. 24, the Raiders selected cornerback Gareon Conley from Ohio State. Conley missed most of his rookie season with an injury but started a total of just 20 games before the team ultimately traded him away to Houston for a third-round pick.
In the second round, the Raiders took uber-athletic safety Obi Mlifonwu, who bounced back and forth between cornerback safety for Oakland. He started just one game for the Raiders before eventually being released during the 2018 season.
In a recent article by Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report, he re-drafted the entire first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. For the Raiders, he gave them UCLA linebacker Jayon Brown instead of Conley. Take a look at Gagnon’s reasoning behind the selection:
Let’s go with Jayon Brown, who was barely a part-timer as a fifth-round rookie with the Titans before blowing up with 202 tackles, seven sacks, two picks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 11 tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits the last two years. He’s a disciplined, versatile player who has excelled in every phase at various points and should only get better. You could imagine he becomes the heart and soul of the Raiders defense.
Brown isn’t an elite linebacker by any means, but he is certainly better than anyone the Raiders have played over the last two seasons. Brown is a highly athletic linebacker who excels in coverage. He would have fit in well in Paul Guenther’s defense.
Every team has a draft or two they wish they could re-do. The 2017 draft was one the Raiders certainly wish they could forget.
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